No. 6 Baylor VB Completes Reverse Sweep at Houston

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 18, 2021

No. 6 VB Completes Reverse Sweep at Houston
Bears erase 2-0 deficit for first time since 2018 NCAA Tournament
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
HOUSTON – No. 6 Baylor volleyball erased a 2-0 deficit to complete a reverse sweep Thursday night at Houston, 19-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-9, 15-10 at the Fertitta Center.

Yossiana Pressley and Lauren Harrison led the offense with 19 and 15 kills, respectively, helping BU (17-4) to its first reverse sweep since the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Nov. 29, 2018 vs. Hawai’i).

U of H (12-3) challenged the Bears right from the jump, taking the first two sets while holding Baylor to .184 and .205 hitting percentages. The Cougars racked up nine blocks to keep the Bears offense in check. However, after a rough opener, Pressley and Harrison each found some rhythm in the second frame with a combined 11 kills.

Heading into the third, Baylor grabbed momentum by holding Houston to a .103 efficiency and picked up three blocks in the set. Pressley led the Bears with five kills in the frame, including a putaway at 7-3 which sparked a small four-point run. Callie Williams entered in place of Hannah Sedwick which kickstarted the offense, particularly with a dump at 16-10. BU ended the set with another four-point run that kept the match alive.

The Bears opened the fourth set in dominating fashion, taking 12 of the first 13 points behind four consecutive aces by Williams. Harrison added five kills in the frame and BU held the Cougars to just nine points to extend the match to a deciding fifth.

In the fifth, Williams aced U of H again to put the Bears ahead 2-1, and the Bears retook the lead at 7-6 with a Pressley kill. The reigning national player of the year added two more putaways in succession to swell BU’s advantage, and the Bears never looked back. A double block by Sedwick and Kara McGhee followed a Houston timeout and kept the Cougars at arm’s length for the remainder of the set. Ultimately, a Sedwick kill and a Houston attack error resulted in Baylor’s 17th win of the season.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor collected its first reverse sweep since Nov. 29, 2018, when the Bears erased a 2-0 deficit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Hawai’i.
• BU tallied 12 total blocks, its ninth double-digit output of the year.
• The Bears held the Cougars to just nine points in the first set, the first time that BU has held a team below 10 points in a 25-point set since Dec. 6, 2019 vs. Sacred Heart.
• Baylor recorded 83 digs, a season-high and most in a match since Nov. 20, 2019 vs. No. 1 Texas.
• Three Bears produced double-doubles: Yossiana Pressley (19 kills, 17 digs), Hannah Sedwick (39 assists, 15 digs) and Callie Williams (11 assists, 10 digs).
• It was Pressley’s sixth double-double of the season and 26th of her career.
• 17 digs is a season-high for Pressley.
• It was Sedwick’s second double-double of the year and 28th of her career.
• 15 digs is a season-best for Sedwick, just four shy of her career-high.
• Williams’ double-double was her seventh of the season and 11th of her career.
• Five aces ties Williams’ career-high.
• Pressley eclipsed double figures in kills for the 20th time this season, while Lauren Harrison did so for the 13th time.
• Williams and Sedwick tallied double-digit kills for the 18th and ninth time this year.
• Emily Van Slate recorded a career-high 15 digs, her ninth double-digit performance of the 2020-21 campaign.
• Shanel Bramschreiber racked up 13 digs, her 17th outing with at least 10.

STAT OF THE MATCH
3-2 – Baylor completed a reverse sweep to win 3-2 for the first time since Nov. 29, 2018 against Hawai’i in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On tonight’s match…
“I’m really proud of Callie [Williams]’ tenacity, coming in both from the service line and helping us hit over .300 those last three sets. Healthy diligence from our defense kept some pressure on Houston despite us struggling a little bit. I thought the blocking came around and we had better first touches on serves in serve receive.”

Redshirt sophomore Lauren Harrison
On coming up with timely kills…
“My mindset is always just hit high and hit hard. I think the setters did a good job of distributing the ball and making good plays in tough situations. I think just playing freely and having confidence in myself and the people around me can help me find shots and be the best player I can be.”

Senior Yossiana Pressley
On her role when staging a comeback…
“[The team] definitely looks to me for guidance sometimes because sometimes my role is hitting, sometimes it’s passing or digging or serving. I try to give this team what we need in tough times. Tonight, I needed to pass better so I made sure I was passing to the target.”

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 6 Baylor (17-4) will take on Rice (13-3) Friday night in Houston, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

-BaylorBears.com-


__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3073 | C: 254-265-1639

[signature_182556868]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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